


Reconciliation by Fire

by Nonnie_mouse



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 14:27:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1350751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonnie_mouse/pseuds/Nonnie_mouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Prompts in Panem day 6 : Hazel - reconciliation</p>
<p>three times Peeta watched people come back together</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconciliation by Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : the hunger games belongs to Suzanne Collins. No profit is being made from this work.
> 
> I totally forgot to thank chele20035 for the read through of this work on tumblr. My sincerest apologies , hon :( I am very grateful to you, as always!

**At 6 years old**

"No, it's mine! Give it back!" A voice roared from the main living area. Another voice yelled back, slightly muffled, and was followed by a loud thud. Peeta, eyes wide tiptoed to the edge of his room and peeked out the door to watch his brothers, rolling around on the ground. They were tussling over something Peeta couldn't quite see, but, it might as well have been the most precious thing in the world with the way they were grappling over it. With a violent jab to his ribs from his oldest brother, Peeta watched the prized item fall out of his other brother's hands and roll to the other side of the room as the boys kept on fighting. Fascinated, Peeta attempted to use his small size to sneak further into the room and retrieve the prize unnoticed by his brothers, thinking he could give whatever it was to the beautiful girl at school with the voice that made the birds stop and listen. Something that sought after had to be valuable, and she deserved something valuable. Suddenly, there was an almighty smash that seemed to shake the house. Peeta darted back to his room as quick as his little feet could carry him. Just as he got back to his room and hid behind the door, he heard an almost unearthly shriek from his mom. He peeked his head around the door to watch his daddy try to separate his brothers , while his mom threw whatever she could get her hands on at them, screaming the whole time. Peeta quickly retreated further into his room, sat on the floor and covered his ears until his daddy came and got him. 

It wasn't until dinner time that he saw his brothers again. They both had bruises and scrapes all over them. Some were from each other, others were clear indentations from the implements their mom had thrown at them. Peeta's daddy watched his brothers warily, but didn't say anything. Mom had taken to her bed, stating that she had a headache. 

Dinner was pretty quiet, until Peeta saw that one of his bothers jumped a little, as if he had been kicked. Then the other one did. All of a sudden they were smiling at each other and laughing at talking about school, as if nothing had ever happened between them. Peeta watched, fascinated, and wondered if all relationships could be mended that quickly. 

****At 11 years old** **

By the time Peeta was eleven, he knew that not all fights finished that quickly, or that cleanly. He sat at the bakery's table, head hung low as his mother screamed about how useless he was, how he was the biggest mistake she had ever made. She slammed the rolling pin on the table almost in time with her screams, and Peeta flinched, still feeling the sting across his cheek. His father tried to calm her, only to have her redirect the rage she felt onto him. It was not until she started yelling about his father encouraging the "Seam trash" at their bakery, and that was what probably had distracted Peeta into burning the bread, did he finally look up. 

"I didn't know she was here, mom." He said, calmly. His mother couldn't know that he had given the bread to Katniss, that he had burned it for her. He could take his mother's wrath. He would not let her punish Katniss and her family as well. "My head was in the clouds because I was excited. Dad said he would start letting me decorate the cakes soon. I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry." 

His mother gave him a look of contempt, and muttered something about him not being fit to decorate a dog biscuit, let alone a cake. 

Peeta's father plastered a smile on his face, and moved to embrace his wife. "There, see? No harm done. The boy's apologized, and I'm sure he won't do it again. " 

Peeta's mother snorted in derision and elbowed her husband hard in the ribs. She walked out, leaving father and son staring at each other. 

Peeta's dad sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. " I'm sorry, Peeta." 

Peeta just continued to stare at his dad "Why do you stay, dad?"  
His father's face hardened " She's not always like this."

Peeta nodded. "No, you're right. Sometimes, she's worse." Peeta's father opened his mouth to protest, but Peeta swept in and quickly kissed him on the cheek, pushing him in the direction his mother had gone. "Go. She's waiting for you to apologize again, and ' make it right'. We'll talk later. I've got to get back to work. Gotta make up for some bread I burnt." With that, Peeta walked into the back room, already devising a story to tell his friends to explain away the bruises he had sustained. 

Relationships were hard. They didn't always work , even when the couple claimed to love each other- his parents were obvious proof of that. Peeta didn't know if he would find some one to grow old with; wasn't sure if he even wanted to. What he was sure of though, was that he could move people with his words. He saw it with the girls at school. He could have them eating out of his hands if he wanted them to. It was a power that he knew he couldn't take advantage of, but could use to help him, a way to make a connection to people. He may not have someone to be with, but at least he had his words. 

****At 18 years old** **

_Burning. Everything was burning around him. He could hear Katniss calling for him, screaming his name as the fire ripped through the arena. Peeta tried to run for her, silently praying that he would reach her before the other tributes did. He could already hear them rustling through the jungle all around him. But when he attempted to move, he felt rooted in place. Peeta looked down, to find his feet stuck in the foliage. When he tried to lift his foot, he found he was sinking into the ground, a sandy bank that was as thick as the molasses he sometimes used in his bread at home. The more he struggled, the faster he sank, and soon the gunk was up to his knees. Peeta heard Katniss scream again; when he tried to call back to her, to call for help, he found he could not make a sound. Panic began to set in, as the heat of the fire came closer and the bushes around Peeta began to rustle again. All he could do now was close his eyes and hope for a quick death ..._

Peeta found himself in Katniss' bed, sitting up straight and sweat pouring off his body, his throat feeling dry and raw. Katniss was next to him, gripping his arm, murmuring "Not real, not real, not real." Under her breath. He wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure him or herself, he wasn't even sure if he cared. 

Peeta closed his eyes and let out a soft breath. "No, I think this was real. At least, partially." When Katniss made a soft noise and squeezed his arm, he turned to look at her. 

"It was the arena; the Quarter Quell. After you and Johanna left to set up Beetee's trap. You called out for me?" 

Katniss' face went blank, but she nodded. 

Peeta nodded back " I couldn't get to you. Couldn't protect you." 

"I couldn't get to you, either." 

Peeta tilted his head to the side. "Did you want to?" 

Surprise showed on Katniss' face as she answered " Peeta. Yes. Of course." 

"Why?" 

Katniss' expression melted from surprise to confusion mixed with another emotion Peeta daren't name for fear of being wrong. "How can you ask me that?"  
"How can I not? Katniss. Even if my memories of you were hijacked, they haven't been exactly clear cut. Ever. I've been back in Twelve for a month, and I still don't know exactly. I need to know what you're thinking, Katniss. If I don't, I fill in the gaps myself, and , while that worked for me before the hijacking, I haven't been doing the greatest job of it since." 

Katniss looked down at her hands. "Do we need to talk about this now?" 

Peeta shrugged. "Now? No. But., I do think we need to talk. Whatever this is between us, whatever we're doing , needs to meet my needs too. I'm going to be here for you, Katniss. Whatever you need. But, I'm going to need to talk sometimes." 

Katniss got the stubborn look on her face, the one Peeta had seen for years , even before the Hunger Games. The one that meant that she was not going to capitulate without a fight. " I'm not very good at talking. So if this is an ultimatum..." 

Peeta let out a snort. "Yeah, I know. All I'm asking is that you try. And, no. It's not an ultimatum. Think of it as a request. No expectations, other than me having a sounding board to bounce my thoughts of off." 

Katniss looked at Peeta for a long time, tightened her jaw, and then nodded curtly. " I'll try." 

"That's all I ask." Peeta said diplomatically. Katniss gave a curt nod, and turned away from Peeta, pulling the covers almost over her head. Peeta sighed and settled down for the night, having a feeling that he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night. 

Apparently, he was wrong; Peeta must have fallen asleep for a little while because the next time he woke, the sun was streaming into Katniss' room, and Katniss was no longer next to him. Peeta cautiously walked into the kitchen in Katniss' home, but there were no signs of her being in the house, Peeta wasn't surprised, he knew that if he pushed Katniss in any way, her instinct was to give herself space before tackling the problem at hand. In this case, how to handle Peeta. If he was honest, that wasn't anything new either. Peeta felt his teeth grit and his hands clench as a vision of a much harsher Katniss. One that could lure him to her with kisses and sweet words, and then harshly lead him into the force field in the Quarter Quell, only to have Finnick bring him back to life. Peeta dug his finger nails deeper into the fleshy part of his palm. 'No, that's not what happened ' he told himself ' You unpacked that with Dr Aurelius. Katniss tried to warn you about the force field. You didn't hear her." Peeta took a few deep breaths , closed his eyes, and left Katniss' house, feeling very out of place without her there. Peeta quickly glanced at Haymitch's house, but saw that his curtains were still drawn shut, so trudged towards his place slowly. 

It was so surreal, thinking about his life since being back from the Capitol. It was almost as if nothing had really changed; but everything had. The fence around district 12 was gone, the meadow was gone. The Undersees were gone... So many people were gone it made him dizzy just thinking about it. But, everyday , more and more people were coming back to District 12 , coming back home.

Thoughts of home led Peeta to think of Katniss, how he couldn't let her go, even when his mind had been poisoned by Snow and his machinations. Yet, Katniss seemed to be ... Well, Katniss. He had to admit, he was taken aback with how dishevelled she had been when he started to plant the Evening Primrose outside Katniss' place, but she had got back to her usual way of being once he got back. Peeta had been told by Sae that before he had come back, it had been a vastly different story - that Katniss had been a shell, speaking only when she had to , not moving from certain rooms in her house. It coincided with what Haymitch had been saying Katniss was like when he had been captured by the Capitol. Of course, Peeta hadn't been in the right mindset to listen to Haymitch, or Delly , or anyone really, when it came to how Katniss had been faring at the time. Hell, he couldn't even think of Katniss at the time without wanting to wrap his hands around her neck again. In his darkest day, it still scared him how satisfying it had felt to do that when he had first seen her when in District 13. To have her life in his hands... Peeta shivered slightly, horrified at himself and wary that he could set himself off into an episode. 'And this,' he thought 'Is why I need to talk it out. Once it's out in the world, the words don't have the power they do in my mind. And, whatever power they do continue to have, I can control.' Unfortunately, talking would have to wait. Katniss most probably would have gone to hunt, Haymitch was out for the count and Peeta's family... Peeta pinched himself, hard, and moved into his kitchen. If he couldn't talk to someone, he'd bake. He walked around, searching for ingredients and inspiration and found everything he needed for his dad's hazelnut and berry bread. As he mixed the ingredients and lost himself in the work, Peeta couldn't help remembering his dad going through these same motions, smiling and laughing with pride as his boys danced around him, trying to learn the trade. Sometimes, on the good days, his mother would stand at the door , watching them all with something that could be interpreted as a smile on her face. On the bad days, Peeta's dad would bake while his mom took to her room, and take the bread into their room when he was done. Peeta's dad always claimed that bread was better than flowers for lifting people's spirits, especially in Twelve. Peeta didn't stop at the bread; soon he was baking cheese buns and cake and anything he could think of to take his mind off of the darker thoughts that could invade his mind. Before he knew it, dusk was falling, and there was a soft knock on his front door. Peeta stopped, noting that his stomach was growling as he had forgotten to eat the whole day. He grabbed himself a bun and went to answer the door. 

There stood Katniss, dirty and sweaty and sheepish. "Hey. Can you come over for a bit?" 

Peeta nodded his assent, and quickly went into the kitchen to grab the baked goods. To his surprise, Katniss had followed him in , and helped him carry the food over to her place. They walked over together, not speaking. 

Once there, Peeta noticed some parchment and books in the living area. He looked at the items quizzically, and was surprised when Katniss blushed. 

"It's something I was talking to Dr Aurelius about a few days ago. I ... I want to preserve people's memory. Madge. Finnick. Rue. Your family. My father. My ..." Katniss winced. 

"People that we love." Peeta finished for her. Katniss nodded, looking down at the floor. 

"And we could ... Talk, if it helps you."

Peeta nodded "You ... Came up with this , a few days ago?" 

"Yeah." Katniss met Peeta's gaze, almost defiantly. " I thought it would help, have something with meaning in my life again. I thought I needed it. That we needed it." 

Peeta's mouth fell open a little, eyes widening. Every time he thought her go ... Every time he thought he couldn't love her more ... 

"I think that's a great idea. Thank you, Katniss, for including me in this." 

Katniss looked at him with confusion "Why wouldn't I, Peeta?" 

They both agreed that night was not the right night to start on the book, so they entertained themselves with the food and with Buttercup, who seemed to have a fascination with Peeta ; probably because he always smelt like food. Katniss joked that it was because he was blonde, and then a dark look passed over her face. Peeta gently steered the conversation back to trivial things. 

When they went to bed that night, Peeta felt lighter than he had before that fateful Reaping Day almost two years ago. 

Over the next few days, Katniss and Peeta started working on the book. The night they worked on the pages about Prim's goat and Rue was plagued with nightmares and tears, Katniss breaking apart in Peeta's arms. She clung to him as if she was drowning, as if his arms were the only thing that kept her safe, even though Peeta was fully aware of the fact that Katniss was perfectly capable of saving herself. The night they wrote a page for his father, it was Katniss' turn to keep Peeta together. Peeta didn't have an episode though, which shocked him more than it did Katniss , who seemed to believe that he had a handle on them more often than not. 

The nights that they didn't work on the book were the nights Katniss woke Peeta up in the middle of the night. Under the blanket of darkness, they would talk about things they wouldn't talk about during the day. They talked about Gale , about Katniss' relief that she didn't have to be reminded of the bomb that killed her sister every time she saw him and the sorrow over the loss of her best friend and sometimes her only confidante. Peeta spoke about his mom, the things that he tried to hide with pretty words when they were still in school, and about his dad and his brothers. By the time Haymitch joined their little ritual of writing the book, Peeta felt closer to Katniss in a way he couldn't have ever imagined, not even in his foolish preteen fantasies of her. 

It seemed so strange to him that someone with such fire in her, someone who he never thought could be contained, had taught him patience and forgiveness. The Hunger Games may have shaped their paths in life, but Katniss was still that irrepressible girl who could make the birds stop and listen to her. The way that Katniss watched him sometimes, told him that she relied on him as much as he did on her , and from what she said to him, she always had. So , on they went, getting to know each other again - and getting to know Haymitch, their little makeshift family. 

Then, one night, they grew even closer still. Peeta felt Katniss shake him awake, he turned to her sleepily and waited for her to start talking. The next thing he knew, her lips were over his. This wasn't the first time that this had happened, but there was a passion in Katniss' kiss that hadn't been there before. He kissed back, and kissed and kissed and kissed. 

Katniss breathily moaned Peeta's name and pulled him towards her. Peeta rolled on top of Katniss, and then held her down , looking into her eyes. " Katniss, are you sure?" 

In answer Katniss wrapped her legs around Peeta's waist and pushed up into his body. 

He kissed her again, thrusting his tongue into her mouth for a moment, before pulling away again, resting his forehead against hers. 

"Katniss..." 

"Yes, Peeta. Yes. You're what I need, what I've needed ..." 

Peeta groaned, not sure if he could hear any more, and quickly slipped his hand under the sheets, pushing his fingers against her center and rubbing, trying to get her ready for him. Peeta gasped at how wet Katniss already was, and, encouraged by Katniss tightening her legs around him, slowly slipped into her body. 

As Peeta sank into her, Katniss grabbed his face and they kissed until they both fell apart. 

Afterwards, when they were both still catching their breath, Peeta whispered into the darkness. 

" You love me. Real, or not real?" 

Her voice came out soft but sure as she answered "Real." 

Peeta smiled. No, growing back together would not be easy, and will probably be a work in progress- but if the Hunger Games and the Rebellion hadn't ruined their chances, Peeta didn't think anything could. 


End file.
